This first picture is my Aunt Bernice and Uncle Rex (Mom, correct me if this is Uncle Cecil)
The next four pictures are my mom and Uncle Bill with the horse they rode to school. Her name was Topsy.
I really like that Grandma is in the background of this picture, can you see her on the porch? Guessing at my mom's age here, I think these pictures were taken around 1938.
for more Sepia Saturdays, visit the homepage, but I'm warning you, the pictures and stories that go with them are so good, you will want to read them all.
It is hard to imagine, riding a horse to school. Come to think of it, that would have been less stressful than riding the bus!
ReplyDeleteOh, that is so fun! You always hear about parents and grandparents walking miles to school (in the snow!) but I've never heard of them riding a horse! How fun! So, did they just tie her up outside the school and ride her home, too? Too cute! Aren't you glad you have those pictures!
ReplyDeleteA fascinating glimpse of yesteryear. I love the image of children riding a horse called Topsy to school.
ReplyDeleteIn that first shot the horse looks so big and the kids so small. In the other pictures the horse doesn't seem quite as dominating : either the kids have grown up or the poor horse has shrunk. Great Sepia Saturday post.
ReplyDeleteAll lovely photos! I wonder was the horse named after one of the Beatrix Potter rabbits?
ReplyDeleteI like the image of your grandma on the porch.
(You look to your mom for final approval on the photos, just as I do!)
Kat
First photo is definitely Aunt Bernice and NOT Cecil, and maybe Rex, or a cousin. The horse in last 3 is a different horse than the first one. At our one-room schoolhouse there was a three sided shed with stalls where our horses were tied while we were schooled. At noon we would go out and feed our horse. Daddy always tied Topsy's feed bag on the saddle horn. After being in there all day Topsy was anxious to get home so she got there a lot faster than we got to school! Another interesting fact all the children were either a sibling or cousins!! Mom
ReplyDeleteThese are such great memories of old. I like how Grandma didn't believe she was going to be in the picture, she was just watching the kids with the horse. It is a nice set of stories from Oklahoma.
ReplyDeleteany child's dream - riding a horse to school. Thanks for sharing sepia memories.
ReplyDeleteThese are wonderful candid photos. What treasures. Thanks for the fun time travel!
ReplyDeleteMy mother rode a horse to school, too. She tells a story of swallowing a bug one time and how it tickled her throat and made her cough like crazy. She was singing, as usual. Was your family in Oklahoma all through the Dust Bowl? And if so, have you read "The Worst Hard Times?"
ReplyDeleteI remember as a young boy growing up watching westerns and wishing we lived at a time when we would ride horses to school.
ReplyDeleteAlas, it was your mother who was living out my dream.
Great pictures! Love them.
ReplyDeleteMy father often spoke of walking several miles to school. I think he would have gladly ridden a horse! Come to think of it, I think I'd have rather rode a horse to school than taken the school bus! Great photos!
ReplyDeleteEchoing what Betsy said; these are great photos! I can just imagine the kids of to-day trying to do this...
ReplyDeleteI think Pop said they once rode a cow to school...went they did go...er...wish I had pics of that...
These photos are so neat Rhonda! I cannot imagine going to school on horseback even though I had to smile seeing horses roped to poles at McDonalds when I lived in Texas. The changes our parents and grandparents saw in life is amazing!
ReplyDeleteHugs from Holland ~
Heidi
Great photos and story. I enjoyed your mother's comments too!
ReplyDeleteI love the title of your blog. It really hit home with me. I also love these photos. I'm from Oklahoma myself so when I saw you were from there I had to check out your blog. Lots of good stuff here. I'll come again to take it all in a little better.
ReplyDeleteI am sure times were tough, but it seems to me they would be simpler too. Not having to worry about brand name jeans, fancy cars, cells phones, etc. Everyone looked to happy in these photos. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJerri
What wonderful photos--they really evoke the place they came from!
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ReplyDeleteThere's a frankness, an un-selfconscious innocence, about these youngsters that today's kids have lost.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful photos how ovely that you have these and are sharing them with us xx
ReplyDeleteShay and Jerri: I have often thought how great it would be of all children could be raised the same way I was. There have been many times I wish to go back to that type of life. No, there were no name brand clothing, no fancy cars, only a phone on the wall! Never did I wonder if I was loved as there was plenty of love to go around, the most delicious food ever to go in my mouth and best of all 3 brothers, 2 sisters, numerous aunts and uncles, 100 plus cousins. Yes, life was good, indeed. It pleases me that so many of you enjoy the old photos. Rowena, Rhonda's Mother.
ReplyDeletewonderful memories..
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your blog.
I'll be back.